The Little Brat Bastard
by chochowilliams
Summary: For hinatagirl18. Eiri is having a difficult time dealing with the flood of emotions that surge forth after Shuichi suggests that they should adopt Riku. One-shot. M/M, Family, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Angst, Mention of Past Abuse


**The Little Brat Bastard**

**One-shot**

**Written by:** Chochowilliams

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Gravitation or the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

**Summary:** Eiri is having a difficult time dealing with the flood of emotions that surge forth after Shuichi suggests that they should adopt Riku.

**Warning:** M/M, Family, Romance, Hurt/Comfort, Drama, Angst, Mention of Past Abuse

**Pairings: **Shuichi/Eiri

**Inserts: **Quote below is from:  . 

**A/N:** Dedicated to **hinatagirl18** who wanted a story about Shuichi and Eiri adopting Riku. This one if for you!

**oOo**

"**When people we love hurt us, it is a natural reaction to want to shield ourselves, and put protection around our hearts, to keep pain from entering. A shut down heart makes it impossible to open up and allow in happiness, great opportunities, and good people. However, when you open your heart, you have room for growth, forgiveness, and change. Most of all, you can let love in, again." -Renita Williams**

**oOo**

For the first time since eight o'clock that morning, the condominium was quiet. Fourteen long, arduous hours of sheer hell had given way to blessed peace.

Out on the balcony with a cold beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, Eiri languished in the tranquility that only nightfall-in recent days-could offer.

Though the day had been oppressive, night had brought with it a welcome reprieve in the form of a long overdue rain shower. Though brief, the rain had swept aside the day's sweltering heat-at least for the moment; it was forecasted to get into the mid-to-high 90s the next day. Even now, a cool breeze played with his blond fringe and calmed the raging headache that not even a full bottle of aspirin had been able to touch.

Taking a final drag of his cigarette, Eiri-seemingly carelessly-flicked the butt over the railing. At the cursed yell that floated up, Eiri chuckled. _Served the rat bastard right_, he thought smugly as he eyed the figure darting out from under the balcony. It was too dark to tell whether the figure was male or female, but what Eiri could make out was a camera that was dangling around the figure's neck as he-she?-weaved through the parking lot towards the street.

"Vultures," Eiri sneered, raising the beer bottle to his lips. He took a swig of the not so cool brew as he continued to eye the parking lot. It appeared quiet, but looks could be deceiving. They were always out there, ever watchful, ever vigilant, waiting for that one moment-that _it_ shot that could make their careers.

"They" being the paparazzi, those parasitic cockroaches that got off on reporting every single nonsensical thing "Japan's favorite gay couple" did.

There has been so many times when Eiri would swear that the paparazzi had packed it in for the night only for a candid shot of he and Shuichi to appear on the front page of the newspaper the next morning.

Smirking, Eiri gave the night a single finger salute before re-entering the condominium. The balcony door was shut and locked, the vertical blinds and blackout curtains drawn.

The curtains were added after a particularly obnoxious paparazzo somehow climbed up onto their third-floor balcony where he was able to take a series of photographs of Eiri and Shuichi in flagrante delicto right there on the dining table. Despite initial protests from the publication that employed the paparazzo, Tohma was able to persuade them from publishing the triple-x pictures-Eiri suspected that what motivated the magazine into agreeing was being threatened with litigation. His brother-in-law certainly had a way with people.

Because of their little peeping Tom, he and Shuichi were in the midst of discussing the possibility of moving. Shuichi did not feel safe here any longer. If a paparazzo could get that close without either of them noticing, who else could be watching? Eiri could not even say that Shuichi was exaggerating-like usual-because Eiri had the same fear.

So despite having been on the mile long waiting list for two years, despite the hefty security deposit and the first three months rent they'd had to pay up front, and after only living in this new state of the art smart house for a mere six months, they were packing it in.

Eiri had to question whether this fear-though reasonable-was Shuichi's sole reason for wanting to move, especially after the bombshell the singer dropped earlier.

Yawning, Eiri made his way through the dark condominium to the kitchen. Standing before the sink, he downed the last of his beer, then washed out the bottle before tossing it in the recycler.

As he made his way from the kitchen down the hall to the bathroom, he tripped over what turned out to be a Mario plushie.

"Little brat," he muttered as he tossed the doll into the living room.

One condition. That was all Eiri asked in exchange for allowing the little brat bastard free access to _his_ home for the entire summer. All that nine-year-old Tasmanian devil had to do was pick up after himself. That wasn't too much to ask was it? Given that Eiri kicked and stepped on Luigi and Yoshi on his way to the bathroom, it apparently was.

After brushing his teeth and washing his face, Eiri relieved his protesting bladder then washed his hands before making his way to bed.

Shuichi had gone to bed earlier. The singer had been dead on his feet. The night before Shuichi had been at the studio working on Bad Luck's long anticipated follow up album to the band's hit debut, which is-as of yet-untitled. Shuichi had come stumbling home at dawn and fallen face first into bed fully clothed. Then he was up two hours later with their unwanted houseguest.

Soft moonlight filtered through gauzy curtains hanging over twin windows that overlooked the queen-sized four-poster bed. Framed between the squared beams of moonlight was a familiar lump buried under the black sill sheets.

Smirking, Eiri closed the bedroom door softly and carefully picked his way across the twilight-strewn room to the bed.

It has felt like a lifetime since he and Shuichi have had some alone time. Just the mere thought of being able to make up for lost time with his hyperactive baka had a delicious shiver racing through him and causing his once baggy pajama bottoms to feel uncomfortably snug. Limited though they were in ways to "catch up" given the occupant in their guest room, there were still plenty of options to peruse. His favorite was to see how far he could go before Shuichi woke up.

With eager anticipation, and maybe just a tad impatience, Eiri flung back the bed sheets….

…and promptly wilted.

The sight that greeted him instantly killed his raging hard-on. Instead of the delectable entrée he had been anticipating and salivating over, what he'd gotten was a bite-sized turd-or in this case, his very much unwanted nine year old summer guest.

Eiri grumbled in annoyance and-if pressed-a little jealousy.

Every-freaking-time. He swore the little brat bastard was psychic. How else could it be explained that whenever he desired some alone time with Shuichi, this little cockroach showed up? A conspiracy. It had to be.

Sneering, Eiri leaned over the bed and carefully scooped the little blond brat stealer into his arms-carefully because Shuichi would never let him hear the end of it otherwise.

A moan from the other side of the bed had Eiri freezing.

"Eiri?" called a sleep-laced voice.

"Brat."

Shuichi pushed himself up-the sheets pooling around his waist-with one hand while the other rubbed his eyes. To Eiri's disappointment, Shuichi was wearing pajamas, though he should not be surprised given the third wheel in the room.

"What you doing?" Shuichi slurred.

"Putting Riku to bed. He's too old to be doing this."

Shuichi nodded, yawning, then froze. "Huh?" Violet eyes scanned the now empty bed before taking in the quietly slumbering nine-year old cradled in Eiri's arms. "Oh!" Shuichi blinked in surprise. "Where'd he come from?"

"Hell," Eiri replied.

Clucking his tongue, Shuichi scrambled out of bed-tripping over the sheets-and followed Eiri out of the bedroom and down the dark hall to their guest room that Riku had confiscated as his own for the next two months.

Eiri shook his head in disgust at the sight that greeted him.

The room had undergone a massive transformation since the little parasite appeared on their doorstep a few weeks ago. Gone was the luxurious suite they'd paid an interior designer handsomely to decorate. In its place was the results of a toy store gone nuclear. Mario Brothers. Pac Man. Angry Birds. The kid had more toys than all the toy stores in Asia combined.

As assorted articles of clothing, hidden by the mountains of toys, attempted to noose Eiri's ankles along the trek across the bedroom, Shuichi was snickering as he skipped around the mess easily.

Eiri sneered.

Shuichi shot the blond-haired author a toothy grin.

Rolling his eyes, Eiri placed the sleeping nine year old in his bed and drew up the blue Mario Brothers sheet around him.

Arms wrapped around his waist from behind as he straightened.

"He's so cute," Shuichi cooed, leaning his cheek against Eiri's shoulder.

"Yeah and then he wakes up."

Dropping his arms, Shuichi scowled. "What do you hate about him so much?" he demanded.

"Everything."

"Eiri. C'mon," an exasperated Shuichi snapped.

"You know how I feel about children Shuichi, _him_ most especially," Eiri said as he turned to face the singer.

"Oh Eiri," Shuichi sighed. The more things changed the more they stayed the same.

A furious scowl on his face, Eiri have a violent shake of his head. "No. Just-no." Pushing passed Shuichi, he stormed out of the bedroom without a single glance back.

With an aggressive sigh, Shuichi scrubbed his hands over his face. With a last glance at Riku, who thankfully had not stirred, Shuichi went after Eiri. He found the man sitting on the far side of the bed with his head hanging in his hands. Shuichi's heart ached at the sight. "Eiri…" he called timidly. "Eiri, I thought…I thought you were, ya know, over-"

"There is no _'over' _Shuichi," Eiri snapped, jumping to his feet. "You of all people should know that!"

Shuichi flinched. "Look, I-I just…"

"You love the little brat bastard. I know that. I get it. But I…"

"Riku is _not_ his father Eiri. He never even _met_ the man."

"Yeah and whose fault is that?" Eiri snapped back.

"Eiri," Shuichi called softly. He sighed when the man turned his back on him. _So childish_, he thought. Shutting the bedroom door behind him, Shuichi made his way across the room that was now dimly lit by the wall sconce above the bed. He rounded the bed and perched on the edge of the mattress besides where Eiri had just been sitting. "Eiri," he said again, "Yuki was a _pedophile_. He _sold _you to a couple of gang bangers for-what?-ten bucks? Twenty? He used your attraction to him against you! He did not give a _shit_ what happened to you!"

Eiri was shaking his head back and forth over and over again, but Shuichi knew Eiri was not denying what he was saying though.

"If you hadn't killed him when you had, Yuki very well may have turned his sights onto his own son! While I cannot say how many there were before you, I _can_ say you weren't the first! And you sure as _hell_ would not have been the last. You did the world a favor by killing that goddamn son of a bitch! You did _Riku_ a favor!"

Eiri spun towards Shuichi. "I still killed his father! Whether Yuki was a perverted asshole who got what he deserved or not, a son still lost his father!" Eiri dragged his fingers through his hair and tuned away with an annoyed growl from the _look_ in his husband's eyes.

"He loves you Eiri," Shuichi whispered into the silence. "He loves you and holds no resentment towards you for what you did."

"How can he when he doesn't understand?" Eiri shot back. As if all the energy vanished from him at once, Eiri dropped onto the bed besides Shuichi.

"He knows enough. Yes," Shuichi continued, raising his voice over Eiri's protestations, "he doesn't know the details, but he doesn't need to. He knows that Yuki was a bad man that did bad things."

"And what if that changes once he gets old enough to understand?"

Shuichi shook his head. "He won't."

"What if he does?"

"He won't," Shuichi insisted.

"But-what-if-he-does?"

Shuichi gave Eiri a sad smile. "Then he does. That is a chance you are just going to have to take." He reached out and clasped Eiri's hand as violet eyes met and held hazel eyes golden like the sun. "But he won't judge you for what you did or even what you may do in the future. You are his father Eiri and _have been _for four years." Smiling, Shuichi reached up and captured a single tear that collected in the corner of Eiri's eye. "He loves you despite your past just as I do. And just like me, he isn't going anywhere." Shuichi slid himself onto Eiri's lap and wrapping his arms around Eiri's neck, rested their foreheads together. Staring deeply into his writer lover's eyes, he said, "We're a family Eiri. Can you honestly see our lives without Riku?"

That was something Eiri did not even have to think about.

Though he would never admit it, he was terribly jealous of Riku-had been from the second the little weasel entered their lives. Or more accurately, he was jealous of all the time and attention Shuichi gave to Riku instead of him. Then there was the guilt and other emotions that welled up inside him whenever he looked at the kid despite the years of therapy.

But…

The nine-year-old nuisance, for whatever reason, made Shuichi happy and Eiri was willing to do whatever it took to always see his baka smile.

"Damned brat," he grumbled.

Shuichi giggled. "I love you Eiri."

A smile mirroring the one on Shuichi's face broke out across Eiri's. "Love you too."

His smile morphing into a grin, Shuichi kissed his husband, threading his fingers into the silken blond locks at the nape of Eiri's neck. It was a chaste press of lips, but it conveyed all the passion Shuichi felt for the man in his arms. "So…" Shuichi drawled after pulling back-reluctantly-from the kiss and resting their foreheads together again. "Is that a yes?"

Eiri took in the grinning singer, the violet eyes shinning hopefully, and sighed. "Shu…"

Pouting, Shuichi sat up and ran his hands down his husband's chest. "But Eiri…!"

"Shu," Eiri sighed. "What about Yoshiki? He-"

"She," Shuichi corrected automatically.

"What_ever_," Eiri emphasized with a roll of his eyes. "_She_ has custody of Riku. You can't just-"

"But she's the one who first brought it up!"

The stopped Eiri cold. "What?"

Shuichi played with the sleeve of Eiri's white t-shirt. "We were talking-you know when I called to tell her that Riku had arrived? Well," he continued without pause, "we were talking and she said-"

Shaking his head, Eiri held up his hand.

Uncertain, Shuichi bit his lip. "Eiri?"

Rubbing his tired achy eyes, Eiri took a moment to gather his racing thoughts.

Just what was Yoshiki thinking? Why would he-_she_ give up guardianship of a child that has been in her care for so long? A child who was the only link to her deceased brother?

"Okay. Fine," he found himself saying.

Shuichi brightened. "You mean-?"

Eiri dropped his hand and stared at Shuichi. "I _mean_ that we will sit down with Yoshiki and Riku-"

He winced as a high-pitched squeal from the hyperactive bundle in his lap silenced the rest of what he planned to say.

Next thing he knew, the wind had been knocked out of him as he was tackled to the mattress. Then he was being strangled as a litany of "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" was shouted into his already ringing ear.

With a sigh, Eiri would his arms around Shuichi-one hand dangling near pert buttocks while the other hugged the narrow waist.

His twenty-three year old singer husband continued to amaze him. Eiri hadn't actually agreed to anything-just said he'd think about it. Of course, due to Shuichi's amazing selective hearing ability, apparently he _had_ agreed.

"What am I going to do with you?"

Shuichi stilled. Rising above Eiri on all fours, a devilish smirk on his face, Shuichi whispered, his voice gone husky, "I can think of a few things."

A smirk mirroring that of Shuichi's crossed Eiri's face that quickly became a feral grin. His eyes twinkling mischievously, Eiri secured his hold and then flipped them around so that he was hovering over the smaller male. He chuckled at the squeal that Shuichi emitted. "Now, what exactly were these-_things_ you were speaking of?" he asked debonairly as he slithered down his husband's almost dancer-like physique.

His face flushed and violet eyes shinning within unmistakable lust, Shuichi drawled, "Well…" before the rest was lost in a heated moan as Eiri engulfed him through the thin material of his pajamas bottoms.

Never before has he ever been happier, Shuichi decided as he and Eiri made love. Though it would have been fine had it just been Eiri and him, with the addition of Riku into their lives-possibly permanently, there was a feeling of _rightness,_ of _completion_, as if a piece of a puzzle that he was putting together had been missing and he hadn't even noticed it was missing until the piece was found.

…**The End**

**A/N:** What is with the "little brat bastard" you may be asking? This is what Eiri refers to Riku as in the manga.


End file.
